Product Description

Few sources reveal the life of the ancient Romans as vividly as do the houses preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius. Wealthy Romans lavished resources on shaping their surroundings to impress their crowds of visitors. The fashions they set were taken up and imitated by ordinary citizens. In this illustrated book, Andrew Wallace-Hadrill explores the rich potential of the houses of Pompeii and Herculaneum to offer new insights into Roman social life. Exposing misconceptions derived from contemporary culture, he shows the close interconnection of spheres we take as discrete: public and private, family and outsiders, work and leisure.

Combining archaeological evidence with Roman texts and comparative material from other cultures, Wallace-Hadrill raises a range of new questions. How did the organization of space and the use of decoration help to structure social encounters between owner and visitor, man and woman, master and slave? What sort of "households" did the inhabitants of the Roman house form? How did the world of work relate to that of entertainment and leisure? How widely did the luxuries of the rich spread among the houses of craftsmen and shopkeepers? Through analysis of the remains of over two hundred houses, Wallace-Hadrill reveals the remarkably dynamic social environment of early imperial Italy, and the vital part that houses came to play in defining what it meant "to live as a Roman."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #289682 in Books
• Published on: 1996-07-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 264 pages

Review
Wallace-Hadrill's book now joins the ranks of the revisionist studies [of Pompeian society], but far surpasses them in the breadth of its vision and the fundamental nature of its challenge to the Maiurian orthodoxy. Wallace-Hadrill belongs to a rare breed, the social historian who has an intimate first-hand knowledge of the archaeological evidence; and this book is a fitting witness to the benefits which such a range of interest can bestow. It is a major statement in its field, and will set the agenda for future generations of researchers into Pompeian society.
(Roger Ling Burlington Magazine )

[In] this splendidly illustrated book . . . Wallace-Hadrill argues for a new understanding of urban life in the early [Roman] empire. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in Greco-Roman study.
(Richard S. Ascough Religious Studies Review )

Customer Reviews

A superb account of the use of domestic space in Pompeii.
This is a technical book which is demanding for the non-specialist. However, it is delghtfully written, well illustrated and readily repays the effort required. Anyone interested in the use of living space in Pompeii and Herculaneum will find this book fascinating as will anyone tired of the platitudes of popular accounts. It is without doubt the best book I have come across about Pompeii and it gives hope that there is still much that can be learnt from the site despite the ravages it has suffered at the hands of archaeologists in the past.

Superb
While this is an extremely scientific book and perhaps not the first port of call for the uninitiated on Pompeii, f.or the serious student of Roman history, archaeology, and art history, it is simply unparalleled. No other book on Pompeii's domestic sphere can match up to Wallace-Hadrill's masterful use of evidence and well-defined themes. There is also a pleasing amount of colour plates and images throughout.

So where are the Samnites?
This book is highly overrated. How can anyone write a book on the houses of Pompeii without one single reference to the Samnites? Much of what we know about Roman houses comes from what has been learned from the Scavi at Pompeii. But Pompeii for much of its history wasn't a Roman City at all. It only really became truly Romanised around 80BCE after the `Social Wars', when the Romans decided to billet 2000 veterans in the city to keep the locals quiet.

Add to this, many of Hadrill's diagrams are incomprehensible. With numbers everywhere and no keys to what they represent. And exactly where the science is in this book is a `Villa of the Mysteries' to me.